by Stephen Decoulos
December brings us cool weather, northeast winds, and more of what we had last month. King fish will be all over the reefs, from 10 to 100 feet of water. You can drift live bait for them or even dead ballyhoo or sardines will work. If you want to target the real big ones, use a 1-3 pound live blue runner, mackerel, or blue fish. Make sure you are using long enough and heavy enough wire leader. Along with the king fish will be Spanish mackerel. Anchor up, deploy a bunch of chum, and use Gotcha lures, spoons, or jigs. Make sure to retrieve them fast. They love fast moving baits. Another fun way to catch them is to cast net some of the ballyhoo in your chum slick and cast them back into your slick.
We should have a couple good runs of cobia, so keep your eyes peeled. It’s smart to have an extra 15-20 pound spinning out t on hand rigged up with a large cobia jig for when you spot a few. Just cast it out to them, jig it a few times, then retrieve it, and they should be in pursuit.
Sail fishing will continue getting better this month from Jupiter all the way to Miami. Dolphin fishing was real strong this past month, and if you can pick some good days between blows, you can get some quality mahi for the dinner table. Speaking of the dinner table, yellowtail and mutton snapper will also be a best bet for the month of December.
Inshore fishing on the beach, piers and jetties should be good when northeast winds push in bait and fish. If you want to have success on the piers be sure to bring a couple boxes of chum and get the ballyhoo going. Target species in December will be mackerel, blue fish, some left over pompano and some sharks. Use a variety of jigs, spoons and cut bait. A strip of bait under a cork with a long shank hook fished down wind is a deadly rig this time of year. Other catches include big jack crevalles, permit, and the occasional cobia.
For more detailed fishing tips and assistance on making the right rigs to help you catch more fish, come visit us at the shops. Until next time, stay safe and “ fish where the fish are!” Good luck and tight lines.
Stephen Decoulos Atlantic Bait and Tackle 954-946-1040 Pompano Beach Florida Native Bait and Tackle 561-738-2246 Boynton Beach